Rock Solid Recap: Embracing The Drama

Rockies 5, Pirates 4 (boxscore)

When you enter play at 34-54, you'll take a win any way you can get it, even if that includes suffering through an hour long delay in the 9th inning, blowing a 4-1 lead in said 9th inning through the combined efforts of Rafael Betancourt (credited with a "hold"), Rex Brothers (vultures a "win") and Pedro Alvarez (certified Rockie killer) before ultimately scoring the game winner in a dramatic bottom of the 9th.

It was miserable.

It was painful (especially seeing Jeff Francis lose a much deserved victory).

It was also quite predictable.

It was Rockies baseball at its Rockiest... right up until Dexter Fowler's sacrifice fly clinched them victory #35 (Yes, I was expecting Wilin Rosario to slip on a wet spot 80 feet down the line).

I'll take it.

Winning Player: Jeff Francis: 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 73 pitches (42 strikes)

Solid contributions from a number of players tonight (Dexter Fowler, Wilin Rosario, Josh Roenick, and even Eric Young Jr. and Jason Giambi off the bench), but Francis is simply rolling right now and deserves the nod.

Every fourth day you know you're getting at least five innings from Francis, which under our current system is like a guaranteed eight innings every fifth day. He's pounding the strike zone. He's putting up zeroes. He's also bringing a small bit of stability to a rotation that needs a lot of it, but what any little bit is definitely appreciated.

Keep it rolling, Francis.

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Rock Solid Recap: Christian Friedrich Shines In Big League Debut

Rockies 6, Padres 2 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Christian Friedrich

Rockies fans have been waiting anxiously for Christian Friedrich's big league. Well, today was the day, and the 24-year-old left-hander did not disappoint one bit. In fact, he managed to surpass even reasonable expectations — even against the Padres in San Diego — with a stellar line.

Christian Friedrich's Debut Line: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 7 K, 93 pitches (60 strikes)

Friedrich pounded the strike zone all day with a fastball ranging between 91-94, and kept Padres hitters off balance with a curveball in the 76-78 range and an effective changeup. I can only think of two pitches San Diego squared up. One was a lead-off single by Will Venable in the 1st that led to their first run. The other was Chase Headley's lead-off single in the 6th on a 3-2 pitch. Friedrich left him stranded.

San Diego's unearned run came after Marco Scutaro committed an error beginning the 3rd. Chase Headley followed that with a bloop single and then Yonder Alonso plated the run on a broken bat bloop double just out of Chris Nelson's reach.

In other words, Friedrich was really, really sharp today, and should have earned himself another turn in the rotation. And honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to several more turns.

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Rock Solid Recap: A Rare Sunday Recap!

That's not to say there wasn't some of the usual Sunday crap on display, but the Rockies overcame it! 

Here's how. 

Rockies 4, Brewers 1 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Jeremy Guthrie needed a good outing this afternoon after struggling through his first two starts at Coors Field.

Needless to say, he came through.

Guthrie's Line: 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 101 pitches (55 strikes)

The ball-strike ratio wasn't sparkling by any means, nor was his groundball-flyball (7-5), but Guthrie somehow managed to avoid a significant threat all afternoon and notched his second victory of the season.

I'd provide more analysis but I'm not exactly sure how to explain his success today. And sometimes it's better to not over analyze and just accept results. So there they are. Good enough.

Turning Point: Jim Tracy avoided using Matt Belisle in last night's loss. I didn't quite understand the thought process in that situation, but at least it paid off this afternoon as a fresh Belisle was able to clean up the mess — 1st and 2nd, no outs — left by Rex Brothers in the eighth.

And we're not talking about cleaning up at the bottom of Milwaukee's order here. Belisle had Ryan Braun, Aramis Ramirez and Corey Hart staring him down, and he retired all three to keep it a 3-1 game. Just a beautiful piece of pitching to shut down a potential game changing inning.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 29 vs. Texas

Hits

Old professional hitters are professional

Todd Helton and Jason Giambi combined to go 5-for-6 with a home run, two doubles, two runs and three RBI against Yu Darvish. You think they give a crap about the hype? Just throw them your best and they'll figure it out sooner or later. Usually sooner.

Misses

3-4 punchless

Yikes. We knew Darvish was going to present a challenge for the Rockies offense, but I don't think even a worst case scenario would have called for Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki to go 0-for-6 with six strikeouts.Yet that's exactly what happened.

Did I already say yikes?

Jordan Pacheco also contributed an 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a GIDP. Not exactly the performance he was looking with the third base job now within his reach.

Got Their Work In

Jhoulys Chacin

6 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 9 H, BB, 3 K

Bad news: Chacin was roughed up a bit by a Texas Rangers lineup that has made back-to-back appearances in the World Series.

Good news: The San Francisco Giants lineup will not present this type of challenge when Chacin takes the mound against them a week from Monday in the home opener. Nor will Barry Zito present the same challenge for the Rockies offense as Darvish did tonight.

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Game 25 vs. Los Angeles

Hits

Drew Pomeranz

I was hoping Pomeranz would get to face the Angels projected opening day lineup. Thankfully, Mike Scioscia obliged with Pujols, Kendrick, Morales, Hunter, Wells, right on down the line to some guy named Iannetta. That's a big boy lineup, and it set up as a great test for the Rockies 23-year-old lefty.

How did he do?

Well, Pomeranz pretty much breezed through the first two innings, with the only challenge coming from Pujols. Pomeranz won that lengthy battle that included a broken bat, a long, loud foul ball, and ended with a weak popout to third base on a fastball in Albert's kitchen. Fun battle.

Pomeranz ran into some traffic in the third, which was actually perfect, because it forced him to bear down against the meat of their order with RISP. That's exactly what he did, striking out Howie Kendrick and getting Pujols out in front on a changeup to ground out to third. Another impressive sequence of pitching there.

The Angels did scratch across a run against him in the fourth. The good news there is that Brandon Wood won't (or shouldn't, God forbid) be seeing any time for at second base during the season, so the soft grounder up the middle that he couldn't handle will be an out nine times out of ten, not a run.

The only small downside is that Pomeranz reached his pitch limit (85) in the fourth inning, but all things considered — mainly the quality of opposition and the health of his backside — it was an excellent outing and an exciting afternoon for Rockies fans.

Test Grade: B+

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Spring Training Hits & Misses: Split Squad Sunday

Hits

Jamie Moyer vs. White Sox

He's 49 years old. He can't touch 83 MPH on a good day. Yet he's retiring major league hitters with efficiency so far this spring, and he's NOT walking anybody. Lessons definitely to be learned there for young Rockies pitchers. I don't know how much Moyer has to give on the field, but I'll continue tipping my cap to him for professional performances like this one (Three innings, one run, three hits and two strikeouts).

Marco Scutaro & Jason Giambi vs. White Sox

Speaking of professional performances from veterans, Marco Scutaro and Jason Giambi each delivered one of their own against Chicago. For Scutaro, it was a double, two walks and a run scored. For Giambi, a single, double, one run and one RBI. At this point, the only question for either heading into the season is how many games they'll be asked to play.

Misses

Dexter Fowler vs. Milwaukee

Fowler hit a long right-handed home run the other day (I was impressed but not thrilled), but has done little else this spring. In fact, his 0-for-3 dropped his average to .071. It's not something to get worried about yet, but there's little doubt Fowler wanted to get off to a stronger start than this. We'll keep a close a eye on his progress.

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Hits & Misses: Team Helton vs. Team Giambi in intrasquad action

The Rockies waged war amongst themselves in an epic(ally titled) intrasquad game Friday afternoon in Scottsdale. It was Team Helton vs Team Giambi, and while the game counted for even less than a meaningless Cactus League game does (they could have at least allowed the winning captain to make the lineup card out all season), it did hold at least some meaning for guys who begin the spring on or outside the roster bubble and/or guys returning from injury.

For example...

Hits

Esmil Rogers

Rogers pitched two completely clean innings on the afternoon, needing only 13 pitches to do so. For a guy without options, without an inside track to a roster spot, who often struggles with his pitch count, an outing this efficient sure beats the usual. Good start for Esmil.

Brandon Wood

The former first round bust with the Los Angeles Angels (think Ian Stewart, only right-handed) showed off his versatility today, starting the game at third base and also spending time at short and second base. According to those on scene Wood made a very good accounting for himself defensively at the latter two positions (not his strengths) while adding a two-run single. Good start for him.

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Lackluster Recrap: Live by solo home runs, get beat by a solo home run

Yes, the Colorado Rockies came out swinging on Tuesday night, connecting for four home runs! Of course three of those (Troy Tulowitzki, Seth Smith and Carlos Gonzalez) home runs were solos, with only Jason Giambi's too little, too late home run in the ninth being a two-run shot.

The Florida Marlins only hit one home run. That too was a solo blast off the bat of Mike Stanton. It ended up being the difference in the game. Why? Because the Marlins found other ways to score thanks largely to Bryan Petersen's 2nd and 3rd career triples. In case you're keeping track at home, all three have come in this series.

I'd also like to point out that Peterson and Emilio Bonifacio, Florida's 1 & 2 hitters on the evening, finished with five hits, two runs and two RBIs. The Rockies 1-2 punch of Dexter Fowler and Mark Ellis finished 0-for-9 with six strikeouts. Thats difficult to digest in a one-run loss.

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Sunday Recrap #13: Enough is enough... no?

I realize it's just one day out of the week. I understand it's a little fluky that it's played out the way it has, but thirteen straight Sunday losses? Are you serious, bro?

That's embarrassing. There's no reason this team can't come out and finish a series stronger than this. They can't finish a sweep. They can't win a rubber match. They can't steal three out of four. More often than not, they just come out flat on Sundays.

Today was no exception to that. Three errors. 1-for-11 with RISP. Aaron Cook loading the bases every inning it seemed. So much sloppiness, so little reason to believe in this team. It's maddening.

Brewers 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Aaron Cook: Still done. Unfortunately, still no realistic option to replace him. So expect to see him on the mound again Friday in Arizona.

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Rock Solid Recap: New York is becoming a second home

Alright, I don't mean to get too carried away. I'm just happy to get one win out of this series. If they could find a way to squeeze out another... wow.

Rockies 4, Yankees 2 (boxscore)

Jason Giambi: New York certainly isn't a second home to Jason Giambi. He still has an apartment there. He spent the prime of his career there. It's definitely a special place for him for several personal and professional reasons. And it had to be made even more special by the reception he received tonight.

Hats off to the Yankees fans for showing their love. EVEN after Jason unloaded on an A.J. Burnett cookie for a long home run in the 2nd.

Watch Giambi's mammoth blast

Giambi would add a pair of singles and a walk later, and even scored what ended up being the game-winning run on Ty Wigginton's groundout in the 4th. Great night for the Giambino.

Good enough Ubaldo: He started off very shaky, never really had good command the whole way through, but Ubaldo Jimenez had enough to keep a very talented offense at bay for seven innings.

Watch Chris Nelson come to Ubaldo's aid

The final line: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB (too many), 7 K (one an inning) and 119 pitches (one more than his previous season high).

Velocity was mid-90s consistently. In fact, pitch 119 hit 95 on the gun. So yes, the velocity is still down. It would be wonderful if he could get it all back because he needs it on nights when his other pitches aren't working. Because of that I can see why a lot of people are concerned about the MPH. I can also see why other's aren't. I guess we'll just have to see where it all leads on Wednesday against the White Sox.

Troy Tulowitzki: I saw someone tweet Tulowitzki can't handle the bright lights or big stage after he grounded out with the bases loaded. I dunno, homering in all five games he's played in New York tells me a different story on that. No doubt his swing has been all over the place lately. No doubt he's blown some opportunities, but he's fine.

Watch Tulo's blast

Chris Iannetta: Three walks and one strikeout looking. That's a very complete Chris Iannetta type game.

Bullpen: Wonderful job by both Matt Reynolds and Huston Street to make the 4-2 lead hold up. Each allowed one baserunner. Each recorded three outs. Each allowed zero to score. I like my bullpen.

Watch Street lock it down

Overall: Good win. Very happy to see them play a complete nine innings of baseball without any silliness. Well, unless you count that rare four strikeout inning as silly. Some would. But still, it's not easy to go into Yankee Stadium and play a team stacked with that much talent backed with that much history. It sounds lame to say, but that can be a source of intimidation. Well handled by the guys.

Rock Solid Recap: Seth Smith plays hero in dramatic road win

One of the early highlights of Tuesday's game was getting to hear Seth Smith's dad in the broadcast booth with Drew Goodman and Jeff Huson talking about his son's terrific accomplishments in sports other than baseball while growing up. 

I've said a time or two I believe Smith is the best pure hitter on this team. Is it possible he's also the best pure athlete? Sounds like he could be.

It was also entertaining hearing Mr. Smith's southern drawl. That was a nice changup from Jeff Huson's robotic tone and use of the same cliches and pieces of analysis over and over. If I had a vote, I'd actually have Mr. Smith replace Huson when George Frazier is off doing whatever things George Frazier does. But of course my first choice would still be Lisa Iannetta.

Rockies 4, Indians 3 (boxscore)

The only thing I wish I could change about the game is having Smith's dad in the booth for one or both of Seth's home runs.

Wow, were those two blasts HUGE for the Rockies.

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Rock Solid Recap: It's not a beauty contest. It's American League baseball.

Call it ugly. Call in shaky. Call it whatever you like. That's just American League baseball. Pretty wins are few and far between in that league. So to go on the road and beat a first place team, as unlikely as it is that they'll hold the spot, is a feather in your cap. Especially when you're trotting out the No. 5 in your rotation (who's really a 7 or 8) against their opening day starter.

Know what I mean?

Rockies 8, Indians 7 (boxscore)

5th Inning: This is where the game took a turn for the better. After Ty Wigginton and Charlie Blackmon grounded out harmlessly to start, Chris Iannetta drew a two-out walk. Hey, I told you before the game he was going to turn the lineup over a lot tonight! I just had two no idea a two-out walk would turn into six-run outburst.

• Iannetta walk
• Gonzalez single
• Chris Nelson walk
• Todd Helton walks in one

That set the stage for the Rockies first big break of the game. The Troy Tulowitzki bouncer down the third base line that kicked off the bag and into foul territory for a two-run double.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Can't win if you can't pitch or catch

Had a nice dinner with my dad for his birthday last night. Then I get home and my internet signal was a little choppy, so while I was able to catch most of the major moments in the game, I wasn't watching as intently as usual. Feel free to correct me on any thoughts that seem off.

But I don't think anyone can argue with this point: If you allow Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles to go a combined 8-for-9 with 4 RBI, you most definitely deserve to lose.

Dodgers 11, Rockies 7 (boxscore)

Jason Hammel: Had a very average outing going for his 5+ innings before exiting with the sore lower back. Makes you wonder if his back was bothering from the get-go. Whatever the case, the injury doesn't sound like a huge problem right now, so we'll cross our fingers and hope for better next time around.

Bullpen: I think we should just demote all of them. What about you? It's just not tolerable for some of these guys to have a rough outing, much less two bad outings in a row like Matt Reynolds. Demote some of them. Release a couple more. Let's start fresh tomorrow with an all new seven.

If you haven't caught on to the sarcasm, this blog isn't for you. The bullpen had a rough night. It happens. Matt Reynolds, Clayton Mortensen, Matt Lindstrom, and even matt Belisle the night before, these guys have all done wonderfully for the Rockies. To get as worked up as some fans I saw on Twitter (when it was actually working) doesn't make sense.

No, Matt Reynolds doesn't need a minor league stint. No, Matt Lindstrom isn't garbage. Calm it down, folks. There's 98 games to go. Those guys are all going to be quietly great a lot more times than they'll be loudly awful over that timeframe.

Defense: Where do I even start?

First of all, as I mentioned in the Lineup Card, poor Jason Hammel was once again stuck with pretty much the worst feasible defensive alignment Jim Tracy could come up with.

Jason Giambi showed once again he is not a good defender or even an average defender. Any other opinion of the matter will not be acknowledged. Plain and simple.

Eric Young in the outfield needs to never happen again until he spends a whole year in the minors learning it. Sheesh his routes are terrible. And PLEASE don't think I'm taking this out on the player. He's just doing what he's told, and what he's being told is really stupid. Of course it's also the only thing keeping him the big leagues at this point, so it's a really, really tough spot for Young. It's a no-win situation for everybody, which should ultimately lead to him being traded if 2B never opens up.

And yet somehow Young looked a lot better than Matt Kemp did in the outfield. What the heck is his deal?

Oh, and yes, the Jonathan Herrera botch in the 9th inning was quite embarrassing for him and actually pretty costly for the team. Generally he's one of the smarter guys on the team, so his not knowing where to go with the ball in that spot shocked the hell out of me.

I didn't even specifically mention Troy Tulowitzki or Ty Wigginton, the two men who were actually charged with their two errors. That kinda shows how terrible this was overall.

Offense: It's back on track right now. Carlos Gonzalez, Jason Giambi, Troy Tulowitzki, Ty Wigginton and Charlie Blackmon all had multi-hit games. The seven runs they were able to produce should have been enough to extend the winning streak to four, but it wasn't.

Seth Smith: Jim Tracy already thinks Charlie Blackmon is a lot better than you! And apparently he thinks Eric Young is too. I don't necessarily disagree on the former, but come on Tracy, Smith needs to just play every single day.

Ryan Spilborghs: Can't even buy a start against a left-hander these days. That really has to suck.

Sunday afternoon: This is a big one for the Rockies and Ubaldo Jimenez. Despite the loss here, the team is taking more steps forward the backward this week. It would be huge to seal up this series victory over a division rival, as well as keeping Ubaldo's momentum going.

Rock Solid Recrap: Reoccurring nightmare strikes again

I'm not talking about the nightmare on Huston Street, although his recent string of home runs allowed is a growing concern to be sure. And I'm not talking about the scary thoughts that go through my mind between every Rafael Betancourt pitch. Believe me there's time for a lot of them.

(Both of those pitchers played their part in Friday's gut-wrenching and infuriating loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. There's no denying if they do their jobs, there's a much happier ending. But.)

I'm talking about Felipe Paulino. Very possibly the worst pitcher to wear a Rockies uniform in ten years. And here some people thought we traded that guy on Thursday. Nope. Paulino makes Franklin Morales look like Billy Wagner by comparison. Morales has major league stuff. Paulino has a straight fastball that begs to be hit 450 feet.

That's exactly what Prince Fielder did in the 14th inning. It was a moment everybody predicted would happen the second Paulino began warming up. It was his first official blown save of the season, and his fourth loss in the past three weeks. All of them have looked the same. He looked like a guy that couldn't get major league hitters out, and he didn't.

But as awful as he's been, you can't really get mad at the man himself. He's shown us who he is. We obviously don't like what we see because he's terrible and we want the Rockies to win every day. But for some reason, what we've seen for six weeks still hasn't sunk in with Jim Tracy and Dan O'Dowd. They're the ones who keep stubbornly sending a person to the mound who's not equipped to handle the job. They're the ones who come under fire for this.

Paulino = bad. O'Dowd & Tracy = clueless.

We're ****ed meter: Clueless management > Bad pitcher

And I'm putting that as kindly as I can.

If Felipe Paulino is still on this roster when I post the Lineup Card later today. So help me. I don't know what I'll write, but it probably won't be as kind as what I wrote here.

Brewers 7, Rockies 6 in 14 (boxscore)

-- Jason Hammel pitched a really nice game. He left in the 7th inning with a lead over Zack Greinke. What more can you honestly ask for? A home run? That's not really fair, but he hit one of those, too. Great game.

But it was pissed away. You have an improbable win handed to you on a silver platter and it's gone. Those are the losses that haunt you for weeks and months. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants continue winning one-run games like it's the easiest task in the world.

-- Jason Giambi hit another home run. It's an awesome stretch for him. Hope it continues.

-- Troy Tulowitzki lost his composure on a night when this team NEEDED his presence in the field and in the lineup. No Helton. No Cargo. Tulowitzki has to be the leader in that scenario. He can't lead from the clubhouse because he had to settle a pissing match with the home plate umpire. I'm deeply troubled by what happened here. He's supposed to set the tone and lead by example. If that's his leadership, it's no wonder this team gets frazzled so easily.

Rock Solid Recap: Three times a Giambi

Zero hits in five weeks. Defensive liability. Manager wasn't giving him any starts at first base in recent weeks. I'd say anybody -- myself included -- that was questioning Jason Giambi's place on the Colorado Rockies roster had plenty of validation to do so.

Heck, he probably wasn't even going to be in Thursday's lineup if not for Todd Helton's back stiffening up on him. But like any proud person does when faced with criticism and given an opportunity to prove doubters incorrect, Giambi stepped up on Thursday night in the biggest way imaginable.

Watch Jason Giambi's first home run

Watch Jason Giambi's second home run

Watch Jason Giambi's third home run

His first career three home run game. He tied a career high with seven RBI. Amazing night.

And we have to give credit where credit is due. Jim Tracy spotted a flaw in Giambi's batting stance during a film session with hitting coach Carney Lansford. Giambi listened to the suggestion to stand more upright at the dish, adjusted, and baseball history was made.

Hats off to all of them for working together to make this special game possible.

Rockies 7, Phillies 1 (boxscore)

-- Speaking of special game's, Jhoulys Chacin's performance was unreal. He dominated the Phillies from start to finish. Granted, their lineup is far from full strength, but that's not his concern. His concern is to beat who's in front of him, and he handled his business like an established ace. It was a joy to watch.

-- Jose Lopez had four hits on Thursday. I don't know if anyone helped him with his stance, but that's a pretty damn good confidence builder for him. As nice as Giambi's game was on several levels, Lopez's performance could be more important long-term if he can build on it.

-- Oh my, Chris Iannetta, 0-for-5 with four strikeouts and another wild pitch allowed that led to a run. That means all three Philadelphia runs in the series came courtesy of a wild pitch/passed ball. He did do a much better job as the game moved along at blocking pitches, so that was good. And once again he called an excellent game, so you'll take the good with the bad.

-- Felipe Paulino pitched a scoreless ninth inning. I know... this was bizarro night at Citizens Bank Park.

-- And how about this for a nightcap: Franklin Morales was dealt to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later. Good for Dan O'Dowd for making a tough decision with Morales. It can't be easy to give up on a 25-year-old lefty with a nice arm. Especially knowing if Morales turns it around this has the chance to look like a terrible move. But O'Dowd can't worry about that right now. The Rockies have to field their best 25. This puts them one step closer to that.

Gutsy call all things considered. I respect it and hope it works out for all involved.

Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies lose by 270 feet

It was an old fashioned pitcher's duel at Citizens Bank Park between Jorge De La Rosa and Cole Hamels. Unfortunately, Hamels got the best of it, striking out eight and allowing only five hits and one run over eight innings.

That left De La Rosa as a tough luck loser. He'll have to settle for a complete game as consolation prize, having lasted eight innings with five hits and two runs (one earned) allowed.

Phillies 2, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

With both pitcher's dealing, this game really game came down to one interesting baserunning decision and two different pitches that cost the Colorado Rockies 270 feet.

In the first, Alfredo Amezaga singled with one out. The next batter, Carlos Gonzalez, pulled a single to right field that John Mayberry Jr. charged, fielded cleanly in shallow right field, and made a great throw to nip Amezaga at third. It was an aggressive attempt. Not sure how smart it was, but I know the result was costly for Colorado.

The two pitches occurred later. Chris Iannetta committed a passed ball in the fifth that put a runner at third with one out. And then Jorge De La Rosa tossed a wild pitch in the eighth that also put a runner at third with one out.

In both instances the Phillies cashed that runner in. In a game that ended up 2-1, I'd say that was pretty significant. You tip your cap to them for executing, but it was very frustrating from my perspective because I really thought Chris Iannetta could have done a better job preventing those runners from advancing.

I've never donned the tools of ignorance at any point in my life, so I have no experience attempting to do what I'm being critical of here. But there's no denying Iannetta's technique can be sloppy from time to time. That he gets into stretches where his first reaction is to backhand everything. If you're expecting a fastball up and it's two feet in front of the plate, it's going to be difficult to block it with the proper technique, but it's impossible when your first instinct is to backhand it.

Heck, sometimes Chris will backhand pitches on the inside corner and take them right out of the strike zone. I don't think that's what he wants to be doing there, but again, I have no catching experience.

I was probably too harsh in my tweet on the wild pitch. But it was frustrating to watch. It may seem like a minor thing overall, but on a night when run scoring opportunities were scarce and every 90 feet was of the utmost importance, it was magnified.

To Iannetta's credit, he called a terrific game. He had De La Rosa's full trust with the game plan and that led to a gem. The offense just couldn't get anything going against Cole Hamels. And then they wasted Seth Smith's lead-off double in the ninth with Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and Jason Giambi all striking out.

And no doubt there were some questionable strike calls mixed in there.

Hopefully the Rockies can put this one behind them and head into tomorrow's game maintaining the confidence they built sweeping San Francisco. There's no shame in splitting in Philadelphia.

Rock Solid Recrap: Fish or cut bait

Hey, isn't that Jim Tracy's newest favorite phrase? How about he take his own advice, get together with Dan O'Dowd and cut the dead weight from this baseball team.

I know it's a tough position for the front office to be in. Some of their decisions are going to end up looking awful. But why not just end it now? No reason to make yourself look worse in a desperate attempt to look smart.

Felipe Paulino has to go. As much as I've supported giving Franklin Morales opportunities, it's time for him to go. Jason Giambi is serving little purpose at this point. This team isn't fielding its best 25 players. Not even close, and there's no excuse for that to continue.

And I don't think Jim Tracy would volunteer to step down as manager, but that would certainly help the situation get better as well.

Padres 8, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

Jason Hammel was alright.

When the umpire isn't giving the low strike, you have to live high in the zone. That's what cost Jason Hammel on the Ludwick three-run homer. He walked Hawpe on four pitches just prior, two of them at bottom of the zone that weren't called strikes. He went up on Maybin, who popped up. But Ludwick didn't miss his.

That was the one big mistake Hammel made. He hit a wall in the 7th inning that Jim Tracy allowed him to spin his tires against, and then he eventually pulled when it was too late. But I guess when Paulino and Morales are your options it's hard to blame him.

Franklin Morales: One pitch, one double. At least it was a strike.

Dexter Fowler attempted a bunt basehit. Failed miserably. If he can ever figure that out, he could approach a .400 OBP. Seriously.

Todd Helton doesn't give away at-bats no matter the inning, the score, the standings. It doesn't matter. Professional at-bat every time.

That's all I really care to write about in terms of the Rockies on field product.

Did Bud Black really pull Mat Latos so he didn't face the possibility of losing the game? I hope not, but if so, that's absurdly stupid. Such a flawed mentality, even though it worked.

Sounds of the game:

Jeff Huson on Chris Iannetta: He's more relaxed. He's seeing about five pitches per ballgame.

Tom Helmer: Can a right-handed batter drag a bunt?

If these are the people attempting to describe the action and educate casual baseball fans, we're in deep trouble. And yes, this was a rare day where Toyota Talk actually made the broadcast better. That doesn't say a lot for Helmer and Huson, but there was a nice message for Harmon Killebrew and a couple decent baseball thoughts in there.

Troy Tulowitzki on his foul popout leading off the 6th: F*CK!

What a lousy game all around. And now the Rockies get to play real baseball teams again... like the Giants, Phillies and Brewers. Oh boy.

Rock Solid Recap: Patient Rockies take series in Pittsburgh

Rockies 6, Pirates 5 (boxscore) 

I've restrained as long as I can. I barely mentioned his name in last night's recap despite how well he played. I can't not give in his full due again today.

JONATHAN HERRERA!

Sure the Jose Lopez three-run blast in the 1st was massive. Absolutely the Jason Giambi 2-out RBI single and the Seth Smith bases loaded walk in the 7th inning turned the game around. But the thing is, neither of those moments happen without Herrera being the glue that held the lineup together and the engine that made it go forward.

Watch Jose Lopez 'Big Mac Smack' James McDonald

Quality at-bat after quality at-bat. Finding a way on base FOUR times (three walks, bunt hit) without hitting a ball safely to the outfield. Rallying from an 0-2 count to draw a walk. Not to mention another fantastic start of a double play that helped Chacin get through his rough 3rd inning.

The Rockies don't win today's game without Herrera. They probably wouldn't win last night's either without him. His third walk of that game started the 8th inning rally.

-- Dexter Fowler was good today and good all series, reaching nine times. Don't overlook that. He didn't give away any at-bats whether they were leading off innings or with two outs. That's how you squeeze out those couple extra runs sometimes that make a difference.

-- The offense drew seven walks today compared to four strikeouts. You'll win a lot of games with that ratio.

-- Pretty uneven outing for Jhoulys Chacin: 6 IP, 7 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 3 K

After being staked to a four run lead in the 1st, he just couldn't maintain the focus needed to navigate the early innings. It happens. It's easy to forget he's still early in the learning curve at this level. Most pitchers struggle with that part of the game early in their careers. Heck, Aaron Cook still struggles with it.

Once that lead was completely gone, he really settled in and dominated like we expected him to from start to finish. That gave the offense enough time to scrape together a rally and allowed him to steal a victory.

So yes, it was uneven, but given how he finished and the lessons he can learn from this type of game, I'd say there are more positives than negatives.

-- If I was in charge of crediting wins, I'd give it to Matt Reynolds. He really came in and shut the door on Overbay, Alvarez and Doumit. Three guys that were getting their share of good swings in the last 24 hours. Excellent work.

-- Huston Street showed no wear from Friday's three inning outing today. In total he threw four shutout innings in the series and comes in a very close second to Herrera for series MVP in my book.

-- What's the difference between a Big Mac Smack and a Cold Hard Blast?

-- A lot to feel encouraged about as the Rockies head to New York for another four game series. Shea Stadium/Citi Field/anywhere the Mets call home has been another place where they inexplicably struggle. Maybe this 2011 version can rewrite that history a little bit as well.

Spring Training Game 20: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 11, Rangers 10 (boxscore)

Hits

Ian Stewart

The most important thing to take away from tonight's game is how good Ian Stewart looked at the plate and in the field. His timing was good. His movement was good. He didn't look like a guy that missed 2 1/2 weeks. Now hopefully he feels good tomorrow and can build enough stamina and confidence in his knee to be a go on opening day.

The Home Run Parade

Ty Wigginton, Jason Giambi, Mike Jacobs and then the big game-tying job by Cole Garner in the ninth inning. Good to see the baseball exploding off some bats, regardless of how hitter friendly that ballpark appeared to be.

Willy Taveras

Three more hits and three RBI after filling in for an injured Dexter Fowler. Great, great spring for Willy. He's going to make it excruciating on the coaches to not select for the roster, but that's still not likely unless Fowler's quad lingers.

Charlie Blackmon

Blackmon has been impressive all spring, but you really have to value night's like tonight where he battles and succeeds against one of the toughest lefties in baseball in CJ Wilson. He's knocking on the door. Not sure when he'll get an answer, but he's knocking.

Misses

Jason Hammel

Statement: I'm not worried about Jason Hammel. End of statement.

Hammel had little command of all of his pitches, against a really good lineup, in a ballpark where the baseball flies like crazy. When you mix those components together, it often equals disaster. Tonight was indeed a disaster, but every pitcher has one or two every season, it's unavoidable, so getting one of the way now isn't the worst thing in the world.

Repeating statement: I'm not worried about Jason Hammel.

Foul Tips

Eric Young

Young did reach base three times tonight, which is exactly what you want from your lead-off man. Unfortunately, he made an out on the bases twice. One was just a lack focus rounding first base, not knowing what was happening ahead of him. The other was a straight caught stealing.

Young's greatest strength is his speed, but poor instincts and focus are offsetting that and hurting his value to the team. He also made two very poor throws to first base, which won't ease any of those concerned about his defense.

Granted, Young is just getting his feet under him this spring due to his leg injury, but he has to step up soon. I mean really step up. He can't just show he's healthy and be penciled on this roster, he has to prove he's ready to play good, solid baseball. If he doesn't, the Rockies will be left making a big decision.

Spring Training Game 15: Hits, Misses & Foul Tips

Rockies 4, Padres 3 (boxscore)

Hits

Ubaldo Jimenez

Four absolutely perfect innings with four strikeouts. He's pretty good.

Jason Giambi

Today was Giambi's day to shine. His laser two-run homer to the lawn in right field proved to be the difference on the scoreboard, but more importantly showed us that Giambi has his feet under him early. As the guys on KOA noted, both Giambi and Todd Helton are further along in their preparation thanks to the shorter bus rides. That will most definitely be helpful come April 1st.

Bullpen

The Rockies bullpen pretty much picked up right where Ubaldo left off. Felipe Paulino (1 IP), Clayton Mortensen (2 IP) and Eric Stults (1 IP) were unscored upon in their innings, allowing only two combined hits. Matt Daley was on his way to a scoreless inning until right fielder Brian Rike dropped what would have been the final out of the game. San Diego went on to score three unearned runs.

Misses

Aggressive Baserunning

I don't mind the idea of taking an aggressive approach to baserunning. However, after a 2010 season which seemingly saw at least one stupid baserunning mistake a game, I'm worried more harm than good will come of this strategy. We saw a good example of why today.

Was that Rich Dauer coaching third as he usually does? What the hell is this guy thinking? Sending Ubaldo into a play at the plate... in spring training... with Carlos Gonzalez coming up. That's committing three baseball sins with one overzealous wave of the arm. It's also idiotic and inexcusable. Nothing to gain from that. Everything to lose. Just a stupid, stupid baseball decision.

And knowing the cramping issues Ubaldo has had in the past. Knowing you've lost Aaron Cook indefinitely. Knowing Jorge De La Rosa isn't feeling right. Knowing you're struggling to find a 5th starter. Stupid times ten.

You want to be aggressive on the bases? Fine. But first learn how to run the bases, and also learn situations so you know when to take your chances.

Foul Tips

More Baseball

The Rockies aren't done playing baseball today. The night game with the Arizona Diamondbacks starts at 6:40 Mountain time.

Eric Young and Wilin Rosario

It was good to have these two guys back on the field as they work their way back from injuries. Still a long way to go for both to get on track, but just nice to finally have them out there.